Preventing Crime News Archive

Since its founding in 1993, our community court in Midtown has been responding to lower-level, quality-of-life offenses with a community service and treatment-oriented approach. After reduced hours because of the pandemic, Midtown Community Court will again be expanding its capacity by mid-March. The expansion comes after a number of local elected officials called for a plan to enhance the program’s capacity, citing its demonstrated effectiveness at improving public safety and connecting individuals to needed services and support.

Prevention: one solution to gun violence that is able to save lives. Shootings disproportionately affect Black communities, and some community members are taking matters into their own hands. “Beyond Black History” podcast host Femi Redwood takes a look at SOS BedStuy’s work to use the power of credible messengers and positive change agents to mediate conflict and prevent violence.

In an effort to bring the community together, over a dozen mothers, grandmothers, and other family members are creating more green space at their NYCHA development. Thanks to funding from the Mayor’s Action Plan and working along with Neighborhood Safety Initiatives, the “Harlem Garden Ladies” are expanding and adding more green space to the Polo Grounds Towers in Harlem. If you were to ask them, these women say "they are planting seeds and then watching the good in the community grow."

How can designers and advocates reckon with the uneasy history of safety in environmental design? This article explores how our Neighborhood Safety Initiatives, in partnership with the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice are working in public housing communities to build stronger, healthier public spaces.

A special edition of Full Frontal With Samantha Bee airs on TBS, and Collider has an exclusive clip that teases the show’s take on gun control in the USA. Titled Full Frontal Wants To Take Your Guns, the special will use all of Samantha Bee’s charisma to discuss the polemic proposals surrounding gun reform. Samantha Bee talks to some of the people fighting for gun reform in the USA, like Shannon Watts from Moms Demand Action, Kellen Khelefu from the Center for Court Innovation, and Davonte Dudley from Save Our Streets.  

New York City kicked off its Safe Summer NYC program Friday with the first of a series of anti-gun violence resource fairs, this one at the Polo Grounds Towers in Washington Heights. To mitigate the recent uptick in gun violence, the Mayor's Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety is partnering with public housing developments to engage city residents and deter gun violence with increased safety awareness.

"A recovery for all of us means every New Yorker is safe and feels safe in their neighborhood,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Safe Summer NYC is the comprehensive roadmap to end gun violence and bring our city back stronger than ever.” Learn more about how this program is investing in neighborhoods.

An anti-violence fair was held Friday in Harlem in the same city housing complex where a little boy was killed in March. The event had the feel of a block party but with crucial information about resources for the community.

“Each of these safety interventions was created by residents for residents as innovative solutions to addressing community safety,” says Danielle Brutus of the Center for Court Innovation on The Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice virtual summit. Bringing together NYCHA resident leaders, local government officials, and policymakers to discuss how safety interventions can influence policy, 400 registered attendees heard panels and discussions on the legacy of the stop-and-frisk policy and “Physical Space as an Innovative Design and Policy Opportunity.” 

The Stapleton Houses' Resource Hub initiative consists of five pop-up mobile kiosks near the development’s tennis court area. A product of the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety, the program is effectively operating a hub to connect the community to requested services, resources, and programming. Some key issues for Stapleton’s resident stakeholder team have included health and overall wellness, safety and justice, connection to resource information, as well as youth programming and development.